Smartphone Security Will Be a Focus of Black Hat Conference in Las Vegas

Mathew Solnik says he can take over a smartphone from 30 feet away without alerting the user or the phone company. Then, he can turn the phone into a live microphone, browse its contacts or read its text messages.

"Anything [hackers] can choose to do, they can," says Mr. Solnik, a 28-year-old security consultant at Accuvant Inc., which works with Fortune 500 companies and the U.S. government. "If they want to install...